Project, Failure
by Viva La Zekiel
Summary: /Im not so good at summaries/ /In-complete/ Tainted. Infected. Defective. Flawed. Useless. Worthless. Once your innocence is gone, can you ever get it back?
1. Hide My Eyes, Turn Me Blind

Project, Failure

Chapter One, 

Hide My Eyes, Turn Me Blind

She could feel it, beating faster and faster in her chest. What was this sensation? Slowly, her eyes slid open, the bright lights all but blinding her. The first thing she saw was read, complete and utter beauty of blood, blood and metallic instruments of torture or operation, tube going into her skin and a oxygen mast covering her mouth and nose pushing pure oxygen into her lungs. Where was she? The young female started to panic, her eyes darting around till she started to couch violently, a burning now in her throat as the beautiful blood was splattered all over the oxygen mask she wore. Pain, pain was the first thing she had ever felt. Fear came next, sheer terrifying fear. The poor girl started to breath abnormally, choking on blood as she tried to move, rolling off the operation table with a loud clatter of the blood covered objects hitting the floor. For some strange reason, she could feel something running along her back, and after pulling out some injections, reached behind her and pulled away a single, pure white blood covered feather. 

What on earth was this? She felt her back, where the stubs of wings had been…tears coming to her eyes. Whatever this meant, it bought her so much sorrow. She looked to be so young, maybe about seven years old, if not younger. She started to spit up more blood, her insides on fire as she looked down, noticing that her stomach and chest was all ripped open, the skin pulled back by some kind of silver slips. She quickly ripped them out, stumbling on her hands and knees as she tried to walk, but her legs where also all busted and sore from the fact that they had been operated on, and the wounds had just been stitched up. She felt the tears falling at a faster pace, barely able to breath now. The girl had no idea what was going on, she had no idea how she had gotten here, or what was wrong with her. She couldn't even speak, and bit her tongue so hard that it might have come clean off…she finally had gotten to her feet, seeing her reflection on the metal platter splattered with her own blood. She gently picked it up, and then dropped it, horrified at what her keen eyes had seen.

She reached up, feeling her jaw line and face, feeling the spikes of pure blackness that they had implanted. What had they done to her?! The spiked ran along her jaw line, and under her eyes, growing larger as they passed the back of her cheeks. 

Suddenly, she gasped and fell backwards, shaking all over as she felt her insides turn, black aura pouring from every cut or opening on her body. The girl let out a blood chilling scream, her eyes widening as the aura poured form her eyes as well. Such confusion and fear swept over her, her powers where out of control, and started consuming her as her skin turned black, and her nails and teeth started to grow beastly. Someone else had somehow entered the picture, and the young experiment's vision had gone black, but the shrill sound of her vocals was still heard echoing threw ought the halls.

"What a bunch of fools." A male's voice broke threw the silence of the halls and cells, as the young girl's vision slowly came back. This time, she had awoken in a much colder place, the dampness of the air around her sending chills up and down her spine. "Hm? Are you awake, so very soon? How odd. It's only been about a day since they brought you here. Most of the others sleep much longer…" the girl slowly turned her head in the direction of the voice, seeing nothing but a blur of colors and shapes. Soon, the haziness of everything wore off, and a rather short looking male was crouched beside her, the two of them separated by only a row of bars. "…Do you know where you are?"

The girl merely, shook her head, seeming to still be lost in a daze of some sort. And, of course, she was. She had no idea what this person was saying to her, and shaking her head had been a strange reaction. The experiment before her had a nearly emotionless face, his short, blond hair messily clinging against the sides of his face. He was wet, for some strange reason. The girl's eyes traveled upwards as she saw a source of light. The male also looked up, and then narrowed his eyes. 

"Yes, I know, pathetic, right? Im the only one with a hole in my cell that allows rain to fall threw." He muttered in a less then desirable tone, scowling.

The girl looked at him blankly, and then cleared her throat. "_I have, no idea what you're saying._" She said in a horse tone, her language strange unheard of in the human dictionary. The male paused then chuckled lightly, shaking his head. She could still feel the spikes along her cheeks and under her eyes, but they also grew out of parts of her arm, small and nubby, yes, but still annoying. They also ran down her spinal cord, and her skin felt scaly to the touch, and shimmered with blackness. Honestly, she looked like a mutation of sorts, her wings now covered in black feathers, instead of white ones. She also had a tail, which was long and slender, with a spiked trail leading to the tip. Her body posture was still humanly, so she could normally walk on two legs if she wanted to. They weren't finished with her body yet, and that was why she still walked and moved like a human. The whites of her eyes had run black, and two colors span within the black, crystal blue, and bright blood red, although, after a while, they dulled to a crimson and navy.

With another short laughter, he ruffled his own hair, shaking any stray amounts of water off. "_Of course you cant, please forgive me. I am called prototype Zero, the first of my kind, and the best_." He held out the palms of his hands, where he had been branded as such. On his left hand where the letters 'Z E', and on the right, 'R O'. Together, it spelt his name. Zero. "_And you, you are being called Thirteen. Im sure you don't remember your true name, none of us do, so Thirteen will be your name. It is what the humans call us, our numbers._" He explained, seeing the blank expression she had. Slowly, Thirteen rested her forehead against the cool metal bars, feeling the pain all over her body only increasing when she moved. How annoying. 

"…_I see_." She muttered softly, her brain slowly starting to put everything together for her. Zero, as they called him, didn't get much of a chance to explain anything else, because as soon as she had spoken, she heard the sharp sound of metal hitting metal and her cell doors had slid opened. 

A man, dressed completely in white, walked calmly inside, a clipboard in his rough hands. The unlucky number's dull red and navy eyes narrowed suspiciously as he stepped closer. "Stand." He ordered, glaring down at the girl with cold, heartless eyes. She, of course, didn't know what he had told her to do, and bleakly looked at Zero for help. He motioned for her to get up, and slowly she had, pushing aside the feeling of worry that had swept so soundly over her. "Good. Now, come with me. You will show your strengths, since you are well enough to stand." He said in that harsh tone of his, gesturing for her to follow.

She did so, her multi colored orbs staring at his back as she walked behind him. Honestly, Thirteen had no idea where he was taking her, and frankly, didn't care. She didn't understand a lot of things, she had only been conscious for about ten minutes, and she had no knowledge of her past or anything like that. Inside, she felt completely numb, lacking of all emotions or feelings other then anger and pain. Oh, such anger she felt…though, she had no idea why she was so angry inside. She just, was.

"We are, here." He pushed open two double doors, a blinding light hitting Thirteen's ever-sensitive eyes. She had raised her arm up to block out the light, one eye closed as she looked around. On the other side of the room was a boy, looking to be about the same age as her, though, his features where different. "Prototype One, and Prototype Thirteen…you are to test each other's abilities. I want no deaths in this fight, and absolutely no fatal wounds. Verify command."

As if on habit, the one called One spoke, his voice very even, all one tone, "Command verified." Thirteen, did not respond however. She, in all honesty, still had no idea what on earth these weird creatures where saying. The man all in white looked displeased that she had said nothing, but the one called One seemed a bit more then pleased, perhaps even happy. Speaking of this other prototype…he had the strangest features. He looked much like an animal, if you will, a fox. He had bright orange, white, and silver hair, and fox ears perched up top that head of his. He had a tail, too, and it was very puffy and cute looking, but all matted and muddy, as was his hair and clothing. He slowly got into some sort of pose, his foxy ears pointing strait back, as if angered. For the most part, Thirteen kept her mouth shut, watching carefully as he moved a little closer, inch by inch. 

What on earth was he doing? Thirteen found his actions terribly interesting, if not amusing. He seemed to be positioning himself for something, but Thirteen didn't know what at the moment.

Then he suddenly lunged at Thirteen, who's instincts took over from that split second, and she easily dogged, twisting her leg so it was behind his before she jolted, making him fall on his knees. She had a firm hold of his wrists with one of her hands, and the other hand carefully placed against his neck, brushing against his chin. Her nails where barely pushing against the skin, long enough to make a decent sized cut, and definitely long enough to end his life. One all but froze for that split second, his ears now perked to alertness as his tail twitched, and he violently growled, thrashing about to free himself. Thirteen finally let him go, quickly moving away as he lunged yet again, attempting to kick, hit, or pin her in some way. Finally, he had got a hold of some part of her body, his animal like claws digging into the scales that lined her tail. She hissed, her hair frizzing some as she kicked his chest, making him skid backwards. Sadly, he had been holding her tail rather tightly, and his claws had made a few lines of blood rush down. Now, she looked at her tail with a shocked expression. What on earth? She was bleeding again, just like before. This strange, pure blissful liquid touched her lips as she kissed the wound, her eyes narrowing. 

Now, she wasn't too pleased, and a stunning black aura started to leak like water past her fingertips, collecting in a puddle under her feet. One moved back, his scattershot blood red eyes watching the aura slithering towards him. "_Stop it_!" he yelled at her, an accent very heavy on his lips. "_Stop!_" He started to move, dodging the aura when it lashed out, scrapping against his skin several times, making his own blood splatter onto the ground. Again, her expression was one of shock as she knelt down and touched some of his blood, her aura acting on its own accord. "_We where ordered to cause no fatal wounds!_"

Thirteen's attention snapped back to the fox boy as he screamed the aura completely wrapped around his body. Blood was practically pouring from his body, before he became completely still, and completely quiet. Thirteen had thought that perhaps, he was dead, and that she had that annoyance taken care of, and let her aura slither on back into her body. If it was that easy to rid herself of annoyances, why didn't she just do the same to that man in white?

But, that thought was quickly pushed aside when the man in white had interfered, saying something in that bloody language that Thirteen couldn't understand. One was taken away by some other humans whom had recently walked threw the same doors she had, and Thirteen simply stood there with a null in void expression. What was the point of all that? With a sigh, she saw the man walk over to her, seeming utterly irate with her. "What did I tell you before the match had started?!" He yelled, seeing her eyes narrow with warning. 13 didn't know what he was yelling about, but she didn't like being talked to in such a manner. His expression changed a bit when he saw her eyes narrowing, and sighed and decided to let it go.

He didn't want her to attack him as well, and simply gestured once again for her to follow him. The man would need something to keep her under control, before he tried to punish her.

The girl named Thirteen complied, her eyes scanning over everything and anything they landed on. The tension for the fight was gone, and all that was left was her curiosity in this strange place. The man had lead her to another cell, the letters, 'XIII' carved into the name plate. She carefully inspected the place, seeing the man write something down on his little clipboard out of the corners of her eyes. "This is to never be taken off, understand?" He put the clipboard aside and strapped something metallic around her neck. At first, 13 thought nothing of it, and kept her eyes on the area around her. Why should she care what the humans did? It was only when the man had not so gently pushed her inside the cell did her eyes dart over towards him. 

"_Don't touch me_." She grumbled sharply, glaring angrily as the man snickered, and walked away after having locked her cell. Thirteen kicked at the bars, hissing now since he was far out of hearing range. 

"_Whoa, whoa…calm down_," came a mellow, almost dull reply form the cell next to her's. At first, Thirteen had thought it was Zero, but this male had long, black hair that hung well past his waist. Definitely not Zero. This guy was also, from the looks of it, taller then Zero. Gently, Thirteen leaned against the bar's that separated the two cells, her eyes curiously searching over the man whom had responded. Her eyes wandered to his face, where there was a harsh carving in one of his cheekbones. 'XII'. Was everyone here branded? That appeared to be the case, as Thirteen slid down to his level, since he was sitting with his back against the wall. 

Thirteen made a soft, huff of a sigh, still staring at him curiously. "_Who are you, hm?_" She asked in a sore tone, his deep crimson eyes meeting her's for the first time. He smiled, and sat up a bit, leaning closer to her. 

"_Ah, you're the new one that Zero was telling us about. Im called Twelve, it's a pleasure, im sure. So, what where you? A demon, a vampire, an animal mix? Something else?_" He asked carefully, watching her eyes stray of his. Some of the experiments knew what they where originally, the only one that was purely human made was Two, and that monstrosity had long since died. Though, it wasn't uncommon for them to nor remember what they where, since none of them remembered their names. "_Or, my sister, do you simply not remember?_"

Thirteen shook her head, touching the metallic thing around her neck. Twelve's eyes lit up. "_Oh…I feel bad for you, my sister. You best listen to everything the humans say, alright? If you don't, im sure it will hurt a lot_."

"_What will hurt?_" Thirteen asked abruptly, her eyes flickering up towards his own with hidden interest. Twelve merely reached threw the bars and poked the shock collar around her neck, still smiling like a lunatic. The girl had thus stopped the conversation with him, and scooted into a corner of her cell, trying to rid herself of the drowsy feeling she had gotten just suddenly. Sleep came easily for the unlucky number on that first night, even if it was cold, and the air was damp. Oh well, her scales shimmered some as she slept, collecting particles of water from the air. That really didn't help her cold feeling, but there wasn't much she could do about that, now was there? 

But, it wasn't the sleeping part that was to be feared. It was what happened when she began to dream that would leave her notorious. Twelve spent his sleepless night staring off into space, however, when she started to shift in her slumber, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at the newest experiment. 

"I think she's might be the one." Jaul set down his clipboard, and then pulled off his white lab coat, tossing it over the back of his chair before he sat down. "The new one was just put into the sparing chamber, and all but trashed the little fox…One. It took her less then five minutes to knock him unconscious, and put him in intensive care."

A female scientist lifted up her head, sliding her reading glasses off her face with a small but tired smile. "But, we don't need another wild one. What if we have another breakout?" Lerra asked, watching her partner sit down in the seat right next to her's, after having removed his lab coat.

Jaul sighed and rubbed his eyes with one hand, seeming equally as tired as Lerra was. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there." He replied, hearing Lerra chuckle, shaking her head. 

"No back-up plan? How very unlike you, Jaul." She smirked, and then moved to take a look at Jaul's notes, firmly clasped to the clipboard. Lerra picked up her reading glasses and put them on once more, tapping her lips gently with her nails as she read, and re-read the report on the newest altered product. "Hm?" she blinked, eyes scanning over a sentence over and over, as if her mind where playing tricks on her. "Her design…is much like Zero's." Lerra pointed out, seeing Jaul nod. 

Twelve rubbed his eye's, then moved closer to the bar's of his cell, in utter disbelief as to what was happening. Thirteen groaned loudly in her sleep, then tossed her head to one side, the black aura forming around her. Her body slowly started radiating a beautiful white light, but it was held in by the black aura, as if the aura didn't want it to become tainted by sinful air. Twelve sighed, then shook his head, leaning back as he began to stare off into space again. 

Such a shame, that a pure soul like this one beside him would become tainted by human experimentations and curiosity…and even their bloodthirsty wish to be supreme, the most powerful of their kind. Humans, such foolish creatures. And yet, Twelve snickered, because as foolish as the humans where, they still had him and the others locked up like dogs. 

About six years after that first, faithful day…Thirteen had gotten custom to the human ways. If she did something 'wrong', she would experience some small fraction of displeasing pain…but if she did as they where asked, she would be allowed to go back to her cell and do whatever she pleased.

Sadly, today was not one of those good days.

Screams echoed throughout the cemented hallways, screams and cries in a strange language pouring from the mouth of a young child, Thirteen. More words formed after her's, animals outside the laboratory screeched and howled with her screams, making the other experiments very uncomfortable. Thirteen screamed the other language as the howls and barks increased form outside the stonewalls. She was being held down in chains and straps, her black eyes covered by a steel blindfold. Her wings had been ripped apart to prevent her from flying away, and her claws pinned along with her neck. 

She could feel them digging the knifes into her, drawing symbols of sealing as she tired to pull herself free angrily. Her stomach was the only one that really bothered her at this point. She felt it necessary to screech loudly when one of whoever was touching her dug the knife threw her flesh, and finally pulled her spiked tail free. He died, simply because she had hit him so hard, that the impact with the wall crushed his bones and internal organs instantly. The other lab workers backed up some, listening to her chant in that other language of hers. Tears started to flow past her blinder, as bit by bit, she ripped her body off the examination table and threw the men and women aside like they where mere bugs. And to her, they where.

Twelve rubbed his head, listening to is sister's screams and cries for help, for the death of those who where hurting her so…but he could do nothing. It soon ended, and they finally restrained her and dragged her back to her cell, locking her securely back up before leaving her to wallow in her pain. "_I hate them_." She whispered in a deathly ill tone, eyes still hidden by the metallic blindfold. 

Twelve sighed as he leaned his head against the cool bars that separated him from his sister, and reached out, touching her cheek gently to wipe away the tears that fell. He knew that out of all of them, she had been the one to suffer the most. She was the one that was most valuable to their creators, so they pushed her harder, cut her deeper, and made her immune to just about everything. 

"_Im sorry, sister…but I have a plan, to get out of here_." He whispered, using an unknown language. Thirteen moved her head some, leaning the metal on her blindfold against the bars, her long, deep red hair sticky and covered in blood. 13's wings twitched, and then spread apart as her body started to regenerate, the feathers growing back in place, fresh and new. 

"_You are the strongest of us all, sister, I need you to kill everyone nearby, and distract them all so I can let everyone else out as well_." She listened quietly, biting at her tongue for no other reason then to distract her mind. "_Then, after I am out, you and I can leave this retched place_!"

Slowly, the aura started leaking from all over her body, every pore, every cut, the aura slithered out like snakes to the Garden of Eden. "_Alright, brother_." She whispered, feeling her aura rip and tear threw the many humans in the laboratory, trying to kill as many as possible, as quickly as possible…that way, mass chaos would help then escape in the mist of all the confusion. Feeling important, she pulled her aura back inside her body, her whole being reeking of the blood that had been shed. Sadly, she had not meet to wise, and had not killed enough, or perhaps not anyone to important…because she could feel more humans running towards her, then away from her. 

"To your feet, monster!" A man ordered after having opened Thirteen's cell. She, slowly, stood up, her arms already tied behind her. She had learned not to use her arms and fingers…they where always ties up anyways. Just like her eyes. They where scared of her, terrified even. XIII had no idea why, because she was scared of them. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Jaul yelled at the unlucky number, but she paid him no mind. Somewhere in the back of her head, in the depths of her mind, she could hear a voice, a mocking tone, like a demon. That voice, Thirteen had heard it many times, the voice had called itself _Tesh_, and wanted, pleaded with Thirteen to let her out. The number refused, every time. 

Thirteen felt restraints on her again, chains and other things ties to her, trying to pull her out of that retched cell. Twelve had already broken his own cell open, attempting to escape while they where pre-occupied with Thirteen. She had sensed this, and growled loudly as they started to move her past the bars. "_Twelve, brother! Don't leave me like this!_" She pleaded, her wings flapping furiously as she growled, trying to resist the pull. Twelve looked at her, and then shook his head, running the other direction. At first, Thirteen was in disbelief…why was he running that way? Why wasn't he helping her? Then, her mind had put the pieces together.

It was all just a trick. Just a trick to free himself and the older experiments. He must have known that she'd kill a lot of the humans, and he must have known that they would come after her for it…grinding her teeth together, Thirteen let her wings fall, letting all hopes of escape fall with them. 13 felt stupid, oh so stupid as she felt them lead her into a large stone room, the only source of light being the moon above. Of course, she couldn't see the moon, but she could feel it. 

"Lock her up, tight. We don't want another outbreak like the one we had earlier." A woman spoke this time, cool straps being licked around her neck, arms, waist, legs, and tail. It was cold, and Thirteen shivered only once, feeling some pressure on her blindfold when they tightened the hold enough to cut into the tender flesh on her forehead. Thirteen didn't care. That was the very least of her pain. 

"Now then, Experiment Number Thirteen, you have been scheduled for deletion on account of the fact that you killed many of my colleagues. Will you comply?" Lerra, pushing her glasses closer to her eyes. Typical…Jaul and Lerra where the main scientist that worked on Thirteen. Perhaps it was because no one dared get any closer. Who knew.

Thirteen bit her tongue, causing her blood to flow past her lips. Even if life was nothing but suffering for her, even if nothing had gone as planed, and no one was there for her…she would not cower, she would not die without a fight. "No." she stated firmly, speaking the human tongue for once. 

"Very well. By force, then." The woman spat coldly, snapping her fingers as the restraints tightened more, molding around the experiments unique body structure. 

Thirteen leaned her head back a little, before she felt something touching the bottom of her right foot, something very cold, and somehow wet. As a knee-jerk reaction, Thirteen flinched away from the odd object, eyes widening from under her metallic blindfold. She couldn't flinch very far, or fast, however…she was still locked down tight, and Lerra just sighed, putting the stiletto knife to her foot once again. The knife sliced easily into the young experiments flesh, but she didn't flinch again, nor did her expression change. This wasn't anything new to her, she was sued to being sliced and diced by the humans in white. It was only when she felt a burning sensation tingling at her foot did she wince.

It hurt. Badly. Like something was eating her foot from the inside out, and whatever it was, it was traveling up her legs, and now her stomach …arms…back…neck… Thirteen let out a loud, angry scream, pulling rapidly on her restraints, trying to get rid herself of whatever this new pain was, whatever was eating away at her body. "I warned you." Lerra said softly, seeing Thirteen throw her head for side to side, strange, black vein like markings traveling slowly up her body. It didn't take very long for her scaly skin to start cracking, bleeding profusely as her screams only increased. Lerra pushed her glasses up and took a small step back, cleaning off the infected knife she used to carve the number 'XIII' into the pad of Thirteen's foot. She had branded the experiment, then had infected her with a extremely dangerous toxin that fed on the body…every part of it, including the bone. The only real problem was, that Thirteen wasn't dying as quickly as the other 'failed' experiments had. 

Black aura poured past Thirteen's fingertips, whisking around the room wildly in a rage of chaotic confusion. Finally, it had pulled apart the restraints holding Thirteen down, and removed her blindfold, along with her 'collar'. Thirteen instantly sat up, grabbing her head as she pulled her knees towards her chest, eyes very wide, and teeth bared. Lerra took another few steps back, and then ran out the door, rushing to tell someone, anyone about what could happen next. 

The experiment shook, her throat to bloody and raw to continue her screaming…she took control of her aura, and started to run blindly in any direction she could, trying to get as far away as she could…nothing was familiar to Thirteen, everything seemed new, and no matter which way she went, she felt like she was a lab rat in a maze. Finally, she was fed up with it all, and stopped completely, barely able to move, blood and black ooze dripping down the cracks in her skin that the infection had caused. Thirteen had to think. Her mind raced a million miles a minute, her eyes till open, a beautiful mixture of red and blue spinning in her glassy orbs like water and fire. 

Thirteen could hear voices behind her, voices ahead of her…all around her. She wouldn't be able to just get out without a fight. So, without second thought, she put her hand against the temples of her head and pushed down some in her pain, eyes spinning much faster then before. "_Tch. Worthless human scum_!" She growled in a horse tone, the world around her going into negative effect, before explosions and fire erupted all over the laboratory, the ground cracking and crumbling under her feet by the amount of aura circling around her, and the speed it was circling. Shrieks and cries of people trapped in the cross fire where quickly quieted, the entire building collating to the ground, the only thing left to prove its existence being small bits of rubble, barely bigger then pebbles, but not small enough to make fine dust. 

"Hn…" The unlucky number glanced around at the aria, small fired still active, even after the world had gone back to its normal colors. Her body suddenly collapsed, and she fell face first into what was left of her place of creation, her entire body shaking violently from the infection that had spread across her whole body, making her sight go black, and her throat dry. 

Thirteen bit hard onto her tongue, unable to keep an unemotional face. It was swollen in pain, and anger…she passed out, hoping that she would feel better when she woke up.


	2. Knowlage of One, Body of Two

Drowsiness took its leave, and sickness sunk deep within

Project, Failure

Chapter Two,

Knowledge of One, Body of Two

Drowsiness took its leave, and sickness sunk deep within. All she could see was fuzzy pictures. Nothing was clear, and her entire body felt like air, like it would just float away if it weren't held down. Sick to her stomach, the ex-experiment groaned and tried to clear her vision, only to find that she couldn't move her arms, or her legs. Something was, in fact, holding her down…but what? Chains? Wires? Rope? No, it was a titanium strap, which was nailed to the wall very firmly.

Flexing her fingers slowly, she shook off the numb feeling in them. Questions raced threw her head, as she asked herself questions about this, or that…about how and why she got there. She couldn't remember. All she could recall was a number, and the overwhelming stench of crimson bloodily fluid. Her name, not remembered, her age, not remembered, her past…nothing.

Her vision started to clear, and someone chuckled as she pulled harshly on her restraints. Her attention instantly focused, and her eyes darted around till she spotted who had made the noise. Naturally, it was Tenain, the person that carried her…somewhere. She had passed out before she had a chance to see or feel him carry her, but not that she cared. He was wrapping up her leg slowly, careful not to cause any further pain. What was wrong with it? Well, acid burns had sunk to the bone, and her flesh was damaged so badly, that the sheer smell drove her over the edge. Not to mention the fact that the number carved into the pad of her foot wouldn't stop bleeding, even if pressure were applied. "What…are you doing…?" She asked, flexing her fingers again. Tenain just chuckled, then finished wrapping her leg up.

With a swift movement, he moved some hair out of her face and offered a semi sweet smile. "I don't speak your language. German is the common language here, my dear." He said, standing up slowly. She flexed her fingers again, and then yanked abruptly and pulled the nails clean out of the cemented wall, watching as the titanium strap fell to the ground with a loud thud that echoed threw the halls.

Her arms, now lifeless by her sides, where free of any restraints. She took the opportunity to lightly brush her fingertips across the bandage wrap, which was stained with spots of blood. Tenain looked dully at her once nailed in straps, then sighed. He would need tighter security for her if it were that easy for her to break out.

Speaking of breaking, she was currently trying to remove the wrapping, and Tenain couldn't help but laugh at her pathetic attempts.

Her finger's movements where weird, as well as her wrist and arm movements, but no one could blame her. Back in the lab, her arms where always tied around her, so she never learned just how to use them properly. Tenain called in another one if his fighters, and who ever she was, she had quite the mad look to her. "Regen, you can speak that language, cant you?" He asked her, watching as Regen, the wind mistress, nodded. "Then you're her escort. Teach her about life, and about the human tongue, preferably German first, then other languages later…and also how to use those arms of hers. She won't do me much good if she can't fight." Regen nodded again, then knelt down next to the ex-experiment and took her hand away form the wrapping. Though the second Regen's skin made contact with hers, instant pain raced threw the wind mistress's body, and she let out a sharp scream from it.

Thirteen blinked once, then slowly stood to her feet, copying what Tenain did…all his muscle movements she imitated, and his expression was apparent on her face. "That was stupid." That was Thirteen's first real sign of owning her own personality. Looking at Tenain with a dullish look in her eyes, with swift movements she had a hold on his neck, and blackened aura was seeping from her fingertips at an alarmingly fast rate. "Speak. Name.." Tenain's smile, slowly turned into a smirk, then a grin as her grip on his neck tightened.

Yes, it was a very good choice to take her back with him. She would make a lovely addition to his collection. Regen, who had gotten over her recent cry of pain, was now positioning herself to attack the ex-experiment.

She lunged at the unlucky number, planning to attack from behind, but Thirteen widened her eyes and twisted her other arm the way no arm should be, and caught Regen's throat in the palm of her hand. Her arm, needless to say, had been snapped completely out of line, and Tenain could see boned starting to prod out of her skin, but no pain was expressed on her face. Nothing, but curiosity and overwhelming rage could be seen threw her eyes. Then she screamed, "Speak, Name! Stop playing games with me!"

Tenain spoke his name to her, after Regen had translated it in a raspy tone, and then slowly pried her hand from his neck, and moved her around so she also released Regen. Then he checked out her arm. Surprisingly enough, she seemed very mild tempered, despite her aggressive start off. She didn't move a muscle while Tenain was inspecting her arm, all she did was watch, examining him closely. She thought he was strange. Never had she been toughed gently. It was always with some kind of knife, or cutting tool, never their bare hands. It was a nice change.

"Now look what you've done to your arm…" Tenain sighed softly, then smiled again and slowly moved her wrist. Then, without warning, he snapped it back into place swiftly, earning a flinch from Thirteen. It didn't hurt or anything, it just startled her a little. Tenain moved his hands up her arm, moving it around then sapping it back. All that he had to do, was to wrap it up to make sure the broken bones didn't heal wrong…thought he didn't think they would. Her shoulder seemed perfectly fine, so with that done, the deceitful red head looked over at Regen, who was leaning against a wall farthest from the young experiment.

The wind goddess Tiched at Thirteen looked over at her, and then shot a nasty glare at Tenain. "You expect me to teach this worthless pile of trash how to speak German?! She cant even use her arms right, how can I work with something like that?!" Regen yelled, not scared of how her master might react. She was mad, and had lost her temper. Right then, her thoughts didn't quite make since…and lashing out at whomever she could, she had snapped at Tenain.

Which was a big mistake. Even Thirteen, with how little she knew about him, could sense his anger rising at a dangerously high rate. Regen, if she had known what was good for her, would have surly bit her tongue, and kept her words and harsh tones to herself…and, she called Thirteen a worthless pile of trash.

Well, at least Thirteen wasn't stupid enough to piss someone like Tenain off; so, maybe Regen was the worthless one. Maybe Regen was the insignificant, weak, and ignorant savage.

Thirteen was no ignorant savage. Regen, however…could have passed herself off as one. Easily.

Within seconds, Regen was thrown to the ground, and Tenain had a hold of her hair, pushing her head on the cold floor without mercy or pity. Thirteen looked down at Regen, and then blinked as crimson liquid pored from her mouth. "Blood…neh?" She whispered, trying to speak German as best she could. Her accent was terrible, however, and only barely could Tenain understand what she said. Really, the only German words she knew right off was 'no', 'yes', and 'forgive me'. Those where the only words the lab workers had bothered to teach her.

By now, she understood some of the language…but she had a hard time speaking it. All the little sounds and words the humans used sounded so strange to Thirteen's keen ears. Nothing made much sense, but, she tried to follow along all the same.

Hey, she was a surprisingly smart girl…she would catch on very quick, if given the opportunity. The humans made sure of that when they graced her with that brilliant computer like mind she possessed, and even though she was constantly calculating, thinking things over…she was also observing, and collecting data on those around her, trying to figure out how she should act, how she should speak and what she should say when she did speak. Complicated as it all seemed…to Thirteen, it was like simple math, like one and one would add up to two. Brilliant, flawless, and completely functional…her mind, was the best thing she had obtained from the crummy human's hands.

"Very good, my dear." He spoke gently, running his fingers threw her hair. 13 made a truly strange sound, leaning into his hand as he toughed her head. She liked it…she had no idea why. Still, even in her moments of pleasure, she felt a strange look coming from him when he stared. It…upset her, to say the very least. Still, she let him do as he liked…since it was better then back at the lab.

Tenain soon let her go, and stood up, casing a foul look down at Regen before the said man walked out the doors, gesturing for Regen to do as he said. She, of course, lowered her head a little, whipping the blood off the corner of her mouth with a truly pissed off expression. Oh well. She would merely take it out on Thirteen later…if she even could.

Regen smirked a sinister smirk, and then roughly grabbed Thirteen's wrist, practically yanking her to her feet with one quick pull. The unlucky number scowled a little, and then snapped her teeth at Regen's hand, causing the wind mistress to pull away.

"Filth." Thirteen grumbled, pushing past the silver haired girl, only to see her vision start to blur again. Suddenly, Thirteen grasped her forehead, reaching out with her other hand to balance herself on something.

Needless to say, there was nothing to brace herself on.

Thirteen tripped, and fell to her knees and suddenly threw up, blood pouring past her lips. That was when her vision ran black, and she felt the cold, hard floor against her cheek.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Thirteen's eyes slowly cracked back open, seeing still, nothing but blackness and dark. However, she rolled her eyes around anyways, finally seeing something other then black. It was blue, bright blue, icy blue…that other set of eyes blinked twice, before a face also came into view.

"Yo! Up you go! Come on, get up, Sariel!" The other female called in a cheerful tone, trying to help Thirteen back up. As the unlucky numbers eyes adjusted to the surrounding, she realized that absolutely everything, everything but herself and this girl, was black! There was no ground, there was so sky or outlining…it was like the voids of space…

Though it was mildly peaceful to be here, where ever here was…Thirteen was a little freaked out by how quiet it was here. There was no constant drops of water, dripping softly, yet oh so loudly, no groaning and pained moans echoing threw the hall, no complains, no sounds of chain…everything she was used to, gone, vanished. Freaky, but relieving, all at once.

Thirteen groaned. "Where am I? Who are you?"

She could feel the chills going up her spine, but, she was unable to move. This other girl grinned a little, her own short, messy red and black hair falling over her eyes to clash with the overwhelming sensation of blue radiating form them…it was beautiful, hypnotic, entrancing…Thirteen couldn't stand to look away. Instantly, she was addicted. "Ha! Don't you know? I've been trying to get your attention…but you've been ignoring me. I would have helped you out with escaping form the lab and what not…but oh well." The girl said in a calm tone, but Thirteen wasn't listening. She was still captivated by those eyes…

"Your in the farthest parts of your subconscious mind. The place where your memories are stored, and kept. Convenient, neh?" The girl smiled this time, trying to get Thirteen to respond. "Sariel…?"

"Huh?" Thirteen blinked, having broken from her trance. "Who's Sariel?" The other girl paused, then shook her head a little, patting Thirteen's shoulder gently.

Then, the other girl pointed to herself. "Im Tesh, by the way. I'll be taking over this body…your in little condition anyways. So, just relax."

Suddenly, the girl, apparently named Tesh, vanished from this strange, dark world…leaving Thirteen to her loneliness. Thirteen, sighed softly, a look of confusion sweeping across her face. "Hn." She groaned softly, allowing herself to drift in the voids of space without a thing to do. She suddenly smirked. "This…might actually be nice." she muttered sheepishly, letting her eyes slide shut as she fell into an dreadfully deep sleep.

That's exactly what she needed…deep, lulled sleep. She wanted it, to feel completely lifeless, free, and loose; like nothing was holding her back, nothing could ever hold her down or back.

Thirteen smirked in her sleep, sighing contently. Nothing would disrupt her peace now, not now. No one would come by, rattling her care bars, or shocking her neck…no one would pour ice cold water over her head when she refused to awaken and move into another room for more testing. Nothing holding her. Nothing hurting her. Thirteen could definitely get used to this, this beautiful place full of nothing and emptiness…full of barrenness, hollow.

It was, much like death.

Thirteen's eyes snapped open, the lazy form of Binka leaning over her dead weighted body with an amused expression. "Mutt…cant you even walk three feet without falling? How pathetic!" Binka broke out into a fit of laughter, not noticing that Thirteen had already gotten to her feet, and was…dusting herself off…Then her eyes met Binka's shining silver ones, the wind mistresses laughter halting almost instantly. "Say, what's up with your eyes, mutt?"

Thirteen smirked a devilish smirk, and then cocked her head to the side. "The names Tesh, by the way." She replied bleakly, not answering the others shocked question. Thirteen, no, Tesh started walking again, a little bounce in each and every step…like she was skipping almost. It was rather cute, because Tesh was humming softly, bright, brilliantly blue eyes shimmering with her newly found freedom. Freedom! Never again would she allow Thirteen to trap her in the voids of that darkened abyss…never again would she be restricted and locked away! Tesh smirked. Oh no…she would never be contained again. She could never be contained again. Not without one heck of a fight!

Regen stuttered, then slowly followed after the other girl, whose hair was literally burning the ends off, showing its now, choppy cut to the world and all its inhabitants…like magic, her hair had been transformed to look red and black, adorable, yet very sassy looking. "…You speak…German…"

Tesh glanced back at Regen, and then rolled her eyes clearly behind her messy short hair, shrugging her shoulders. "Eh, im a fast learner. What can I say?"

What a lie. Tesh smirked and looked ahead again, not seeming to have told a lie, but the truth. She was very good at deception, whether that be a good thing, or bad. She could lie without so much as hinting towards it, and they rolled off her tongue like water threw paper…to gracefully, and perfectly, that no one would suspect otherwise. That, and she actually remembered the lies she told. Her stories had absolutely no holes. To say, without hesitation, that she was the perfect liar…would be an understatement. A huge understatement, at that. No one could lie like she could. No one felt as guiltless about lying as she did. No one could look so unexplainable innocent while lying strait to your face. Everyone messed up at least once, but not Tesh. Then again, most people cared about others…Tesh, couldn't care less.

Regen watched this girl in front of her put her arms behind her head in a bored and lazy walk now, still humming faintly. The wind mistress, soon sighed and relaxed a little, seeing someone else coming a bit closer.

"Yes!" She whispered softly, her mind formulating a perfect plan to get rid of this annoyance that was, Tesh. The boy that was walking in the opposite direction paused in his steps, seeing the newest member of the household walking towards him, her eyes closed. Regen's eyes stayed firmly locked onto the boy, even as his eyes remained on Tesh, in all her marvel. Regen waved the other over and Tesh stopped walking, her eyes sliding open slowly.

The boy started walking closer, then stopped, his eyes meeting Tesh's. Like Thirteen, he was instantly caught by her mesmerizing gaze. Regen smirked as she carefully pushed Tesh forward a bit. "Reska…this is Tesh." Regen said in a tone of mock happiness, causing Tesh to glance over at the wind mistress slowly.

Reska, as Regen called him, was frozen, his muscles refusing to move. His own, lovely green eyes seemed to widen as he continued to stare. The books he had been caring, had slipped from his hands, hitting the floor with an obnoxiously loud clutter of bangs. He didn't seem to notice, or care. Tesh, however, had seen his books fall, and she smirked faintly and knelt down, picking them up carefully. Reska's mind finally snapped back into reality, as he gasped and knelt down beside her. "Im sorry." He said in an inarticulate tone of voice, taking the books from her with a nervous smile. Regen just watched them, and soon swerved on her heels and started walking off, waving over her shoulder with a sneaky grin. "Well…she's your issue now, sucker! Just make sure the poor non-human doesn't get into to much trouble, alright, Reska!?" Regen called, not even waiting for a response before she vanished, a small gust of wind sweeping across the halls as she did so.

Tesh frowned, then stood upright, flexing her shoulders some as her eyes slowly glanced back at the still staring Reska. "So…Reska, was it?" She asked, smirking again when all he could do was nod slowly, his words not making it past his throat. Tesh had to admit, it was a bit odd to be around him…seeing as how he couldn't talk properly around her. Then again, maybe it was just a bad day for him.

"Neh, your to quiet! So boring, and un-interesting!" Tesh complained, pushing past the boy with a small sigh.

The boy just stood there, to shocked to say anything. Then, he felt the anger bubbling within him, and he angrily followed after her. Who did she think she was, anyways?! Reska glared at the back of her pretty little head, then huffed loudly, trying to get the breathtakingly beautiful girl's attention. "You got something to say, girlie?!" He barked, glaring more.

Tesh just smirked, shrugging her shoulders in a sarcastic way.

Meanwhile, while Tesh and Reska where busy arguing, Thirteen, needless to say, was the only thing that Tenain would think about. He knew very little about the girl, and wished to know everything there was to know, without directly asking her. He was watching Tesh closely from afar, tapping his chin thoughtfully. This, 'Tesh' person, seemed interesting as well…but, his concern was mostly on Thirteen. Tesh could wait till later. Besides…Thirteen, seemed more pleasant to be around.

Even if Tesh had the others fooled with her hypnotic charm and graceful strides, Tenain, was not convinced. Thirteen, was the one that should have been captivating…not Tesh. Tesh was a imposter, while Thirteen, was purely angelic, beautiful, and pure, despite being tainted by the humans. Tenain loved that about her…he would feel her immense power, it made his blood run cold, and it send chills up and down his spine…whatever Thirteen was, it was driving Tenain over the edge. Oh, how the humans had ever gotten their hands on something like her was beyond his comprehension.

No, Tesh didn't fool Tenain one bit. He would get to the bottom of this…no matter what. He was a very stubborn demon, and he would not let the subject simmer down as time passed.

He would not. "Ah, I wonder…" He tapped his cheek this time, and looked away from Tesh and Reska, trying to think of what Thirteen could have been. She was too pure to have been created solely by the hands of humans, to innocent to have been a demon before…so, what on earth was she?

Tenain smirked, and ran a hand threw his hair, before he pulled himself out of his thoughts, just in time to avoid a shifty glance form Tesh, who had looked around after she got fed up with the feeling of eyes burning into the back of her skull. Tesh's eyes narrowed, as she frowned, seeing tenain just barely as he walked out of sight, smirking about something. The girl didn't like him…not one bit.


	3. Never Ending Sleep, Blood of Angels

Project, Failure

Project, Failure

Chapter Three,

Never Ending Sleep, Blood of Angels

Tenain sighed, and then looked upward from his throne, ignoring the soft growls that where coming from the side of his 'room'. Eventually, however, despite his best efforts to ignore the vicious sounds, the demon lord couldn't help but cast a curious glance over at the other demon, chained heavily to the ground, long, brilliantly natural blue hair bloody and messy, making golden cat like eyes shimmer with the demon's immense anger with Tenain. "Come now…you cant keep that up all day." Tenain said with a smirk, seeing the other demon hiss, baring his sharp and blood stained fangs.

The demon lord chuckled bitterly at the pathetic form of the demon, who had slowly started to sink lower to the ground due to its weariness. Even though the demon's body looked like that of a human, Tenain knew that this demon was just that…a _demon_, sinful and tainted.

Tenain smirked as the demon slowly stopped growling, his voice growing sore, and his breaths becoming forced. "See? Now, wasn't that so much easier, my little Himmel?" He asked, leaning back against his throne as the demon, ironically named Himmel, raised his head, and growled again.

The blue haired demon spit at the ground, then hissed. "You think this can keep me here?" He asked, his voice cracking, laced with a very strong sense of distain and utter hate for Tenain.

Tenain just shook his head, and then chuckled again, looking away from the cat demon, who was named 'Heaven' by his mother, whom Tenain had killed shortly after she had given birth to the little monstrosity. Himmel, was now over a thousand years old…but the wound was still fresh, and he would never forgive this man for killing his mother. Even if he was a full-bred demon, and was supposed to be sick, twisted, unsightly and unruly, Himmel wasn't. He was raised by humans, and didn't act like most demons would, possessing and playing with the mortals of earth. No. He was nothing like him…_nothing_ like his father, who was also a full-bred demon.

"I'll get free…just you wait." Himmel spat, wincing as the chains holding him in place tightened considerably. Tenain stood up, then walked over and patted the boy's head, earning yet another hiss. He didn't care though…Himmel could hiss all he wanted, it wouldn't change the outcome of his bondage.

Tenain walked past the cat demon, then out of his room, slowly shutting the door behind him, locking it behind him so that even if Himmel somehow slipped from the chains, the demon would be stuck still in the room. Tenain really didn't have time to argue with the demon. His mind was still fixated on Thirteen, and why she had so easily caught his undivided attention. Tch, why would he pay any attention to Himmel, when Thirteen was so much more…interesting, let alone mild tempered. Tenain must say, that he preferred her company much more then Himmel's.

The only problem with that, being that Thirteen hasn't shown her face since that first fateful day, only Tesh. Tenain scowled a little. Stupid Tesh, Tenain didn't care about her! He wanted to find out more about Thirteen, but he couldn't very well do that if Tesh was around.

Not that Tesh cared anyways.

It had been about a week since Tenain had seen Thirteen, and needless to say, he was growing increasingly impatient. Regen wasn't watching her like she was supposed to be, but, Tenain dismissed that small fact, seeing as how Reska had taken up the job. It was fine, Tenain needed to have someone watching her, but it didn't matter who it was necessarily, since Tesh could speak German. She didn't appear to need an escort. But, Tenain had to figure out how to push Thirteen's personally out, and shove Tesh's back in…even if it was just for a while. He was hoping, that Himmel might have been able to help him with that, but, clearly, he was wrong. Himmel would rather die, then help Tenain do anything other then _die_.

Tenain walked along the long hallways, looking out the small-framed windows as he did so. Reska and Tesh where outside, but, wait, what was this? Tesh, didn't look like she normally did, and for the oddest reason, Reska had been pushed to the ground, and the girl was looming over him.

Tenain frowned, and stopped walking, watching as she slowly knelt down, and pulled him up by the collar of his shirt, to tell him something. Reska's expression changed to confusion, and Tenain frowned more. His confusion, meant either one of two things. One, 'Tesh' was speaking some kind of non-sense…or, she was speaking in a different language all together. Tenain was willing to bet it was the second of the two.

With a small, satisfied smirk, Tenain started making his way outside, taking his good, sweet time in approaching the two. Ah, just as he had suspected, 'Tesh' was screaming at him in an odd language, and Reska, had no idea what to do. "Thirteen!" Tenain called out daringly, seeing her head slowly turn in his direction, dull, crimson eyes meeting his chilling silver ones. Finally, she makes an appearance. Thirteen, in all her pureness and glory. Tenain couldn't help but force a fake smile to spread across his lips, eyes narrowing. "I would prefer it, if you didn't try to kill my underlings." The demon lord said to her, watching as she looked back down at Reska.

She scowled at the boy, and then roughly let him go, moving away from him with an emotionless expression. Thirteen wasn't going to kill him, she merely wanted to show him his place. His foul mouth had upset Tesh, and thus, caused Thirteen to surface in the girls place.

Tenain had caught that, and mentally made note of it. If the easiest way to get Thirteen to show her face was to cause Tesh harm, then this would be fairly simple for him. "Forgive me." she said, out of sheer habit, disgust laced in her words.

Tenain smiled more. "Come with me, Thirteen." He ordered, gesturing for her to come closer to himself. Thirteen glanced over at him, before she cautiously took steps towards him, her bare feet feeling cold, due to the damp grass beneath her feet. She looked down as she walked, inspecting the grass from a distance with a curious glint in her normally dull eyes. Tenain chuckled, then lead her away form Reska. Fortunately, she obediently followed him, eyes still down cast.

Then, her eyes slowly lifted up, towards the bright blue sky, the sun shining brightly onto her pale skin. Thirteen was speechless, and merely gazed at all the strange sights that came with freedom, not noticing how amused Tenain seemed to be.

"Do you like it here, Thirteen?" Tenain asked, breaking her form her thoughts without much effort. Thirteen looked over at him, and then put on a confused expression, halting in her steps. She didn't understand what he was asking. Did she like it here? What kind of a question was that? Thirteen's eyes searched his expression for an answer, but when she got none, the unlucky number let her eyes fall form him. She wished she could answer him, but she couldn't, so she didn't.

It was as simply as that. Tenain wouldn't force her to respond, not to something so trivial. His eyes drifted away form the girl, as a small smirk tugged at his lips, replacing his once 'harmless' smile.

He chuckled, and then stopped walking, causing Thirteen to stop as well. She looked up at him questing, before he knelt in front of her, and reached out, tracing her jaw with his fingertips ever so delicately. "You, my dear, are something …different…completely different." Tenain said to her, watching as her expression turned into one of confusion, and slight disgust. She didn't really like people touching her…even if the touch was harmless enough. "Can you feel it, to? The radiance that seems to seep threw your every pore. I wonder if you can…" He narrowed his eyes.

"I feel nothing." She responded bleakly, expression growing dull and monotonous. Tenain lifted a curious brow, and then pulled her into a soft, warm hug, muttering something that she could not understand.

He chuckled when she did not respond, and he repeated himself, more firmly then last time. "Do you feel something now? "He asked, tightening his hold on the girl, who's expression again showed disgust.

He was so strange to Thirteen. It was weird being anywhere near this man…even form the beginning, he have her an off feeling. Though, she didn't know if it was good or bad…all Thirteen knew, was that it made her feel terribly off balance. "Yes." She replied after a moment or two, feeling him pull away from her. Letting out a soft sigh of relief, the unlucky number slowly stepped away form him, then, when his cold eyes locked upon her's, something just…_snapped_.

The girl felt a strange wave of something pass over her, and her eyes grew wider, and her body, hotter. Fear, perhaps even terror? Tenain caught this look she was giving him, and just to test it out, he reached forward, and touched her cheek, only to have her flinch away from his equally cold hand.

She could no longer take it…whatever this feeling was, it was consuming her, and all her instincts told her to run. So, Thirteen ran.

Tenain sighed as he watched her small body run with such clumsiness as a newly born kitten, running away from a enormous mutt that escaped from the dog pound, blood soaking its teeth, claws, and its flee bitten fur. He could practically feel the consuming fire that fueled her undeniable terror for him. And thus far, he had done nothing to upset, or harm her. He looked up, and then smirked.

"My, she sure is an intelligent little thing, isn't she?" Tenain asked, looking over at equally cold eyes. This time, he was not talking to some undermined demon child, or some incompetent girl who couldn't control her anger…

…Tenain was now speaking to a boy, in his mid teen years, who's mind was little less then magnificently flawless. And his looks, where almost as brilliant as his mind, and skills. Today, it seemed, this boy, no, this young man had pulled his hair into a low, and considerably loose pony tail, his astonishing white hair long and elegant…his eyes, a soft gray color, making him look as though he was possessed, or perhaps blind.

"She is not intelligent." The boy said softly, his voice barely above a whisper…very subtle, very smooth. "For, if she was, she would have never run from you, Tenain."

The demon lord smirked, and then narrowed his chilling silver eyes, expecting nothing less from this, well-rounded human child. "And, why would you say something like that, child? Is it not considered wise to run from danger, or flee from obvious peril or threat?"

The young teen shook his head, then stepped a little closer to the demon, the height difference not to far off. "No, Tenain." He answered boldly, though his voice was still very quiet, almost as if he was mocking submissiveness. Tenain knew better, this young man was not, in any way, mocking him. "It is obvious, that you will eventually track her down, and then, force upon her a levelheaded punishment that has been overstepped one to many times when you are far to angry for your own good."

Tenain smirked more, but then shook his head. He was wrong, about only one thing. Tenain would not be the one retrieving her, not this time. He had to deal with Tesh's constancy in trying to run away…but, Thirteen, he feared, was to overpowering for him. Tenain feared, that her goodness, would overshadow his great evil.

The boy, upon seeing the man shake his head, tilted his own, silently asking for him to explain himself. Tenain chuckled, then looked away. "I will not be getting her back…you will."

Himmel hissed and threw himself about, trying to slip or break the chains. Though, each time he started pulling, they only seemed to tighten. Finally, with a loud cry, he gave up, lying against the cold, but blood splattered ground. He started to breath sharply, feeling his chest and throat tighten. No. He roughly pressed his forehead against the ground, baring his teeth. No! He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt warmness building up behind his lids. No, he refused to cry! He was a demon, a beast, and a strong and powerful creation! He did not cry! Period!

And yet, after a while of holding his breath, he finally sank to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Why, why did Tenain insist of further hurting Himmel? The cat demon continued crying, his mind filled with hate and despair.

He sighed delicately, and felt the tire after effects of his crying, his eyes lazily casting odd glanced in every direction as he rolled onto his back, the annoying sounds of the chains slinking against the ground. Tears continued to fall, but, his breathing had evened out, and he was not as hysterical as he had been.

Himmel tenderly pulled on one of his chains, and looked at it with weary eyes, the redness from his tears making his eyes seem swollen, and blood shot. "Mother, please…what should I do…?" He asked himself calmly, his hand shaking as he held the chain close to his face as if it had been a very, very precious item, worth great value to him, something that he cherished with his life.

He tightened his grip, and then he tightened his jaw, suddenly yanking forcefully with all the power he could muster up. To his sheer surprise, the chain shattered like glass around him, and his body, remained free of blood, even though the glass was shredding his flesh. Himmel was in shock, and slowly, he stood upon trembling legs, his bright yellow eyes glancing around the glass covered flooring.

His mother, must have been watching out for him…there was no other solution.

But, no time for that now! He had to hurry, or risk being caught by Tenain again. So, he carefully trotted over to the door, and then inspected the hinges, before he vigilantly started to undo one side, causing the door to gradually slide open.

Himmel took one daring step outside, and then off he ran, swiftly racing around corners and avoiding the other creatures that lived here. There had to be a way out of this…this, this maze! Agh! This place, everything looked the same to poor Himmel, and his cat like instincts where doing him no good at the moment, because everything in him screamed to run faster, all but his brain, which was screaming back something along the lines of 'and, where the heck do _you_ suggest we run faster to, hm?!'

He now, finally, understood what it was like to be a rat in a maze.

"Agh!" Suddenly, he was knocked off his feet, and the demon, who's mind was now just trying to catch himself before he fell, was not swift enough to notice that it was a girl whom he had knocked down.

A very small, frail looking girl…very thin, very pail and almost sickly looking in every way, had also been knocked off her feet, wincing as she hit the ground with no sound or cry of pain whatsoever. Himmel, after he had hit, grunted softly, rubbing his backside as his now angry glare was redirected towards the girl, who seemed completely lost in a state of panicked fear. She reminded him of an animal, backed into an immensely small cage…nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Violent, dangerous, unpredictable…Himmel cringed as he gazed upon her hurting expression. "Im…very sorry…" He mumbled, pushing himself to his feet.

Thirteen watched him for a long while, before she also pulled herself up, her eyes reflecting her suspicion of this demon. Himmel eyes her, then looked away, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

The way she was staring at him…it made him feel, _unworthy_. Like he wasn't good enough, or, maybe she was just too good. It didn't matter. She narrowed her eyes, then started to take off again, but was forced to abruptly stop, Himmel's hand wrapped around his wrist causing her to halt.

"Wait!" He said in a demanding tone, causing her to flinch, and close her eyes. What was he saying? Thirteen couldn't understand a word of it! She tried, she really did, to understand all of what Tenain was saying to her, and now understand al of what this one was saying to her…but it was too much! Thirteen's mind was overloading with thoughts, plans, ideas…she felt as though she had no escape from this madness.

She opened her eyes again, only to see a small look of hurt run across Himmel's expression. "…Im sorry, okay? Im not going to hurt you, I swear." Himmel spoke, much softer this time, seeing how badly she had reacted when his voice was so severe.

"…I…don't understand…" She whispered, looking away from him again. The cat demon tilted his head, but didn't respond.

But, he let go of her wrist, all the same, watching as she pulled it away, then started running again, her mind pushed into that panicked track of thinking. Himmel watched, then shook his head, trotting for a moment before he grew up to full speed again, escaping right out from under the demon lord's nose.

Thirteen, however, was not so lucky. The white haired male had been hot on her trail, and since her encounter with Himmel had slowed her down considerably, she had only freshly made it outside before the teen had somehow caught her off guard, and knocked the poor girl unconscious with gas. He then proceeded to carry her back on his back, the gas mask tightly pulled over his gorgeous face. He was, only human…so, he had no 'supernatural' powers…the only thing wrong with him, was his mind, and his incredible ability to kill, and hunt with ruthless tactics.

It was merely out of his orders, did this young man not injure her any more they she had already injured herself. Otherwise, his trap for her would have been a lot more…painful, and grotesque.

Loads more fun then just knocking her out with gas, but whatever. Orders where orders.

Thirteen started to stir about on the young teen's back, and he simply ignored her, letting her slide to the ground once he was inside what was considered to be her room. It was a nice room, though the cemented floors and cemented walls made the room chilly, and look more like a cell…it was still a very nice room.

The young teen looked down at the unconscious form of Thirteen, seeing her body changing into that of Tesh's. He wasn't to surprised. After all, his master was a demon, and, most of the people living here where odd in their own way…seeing something like this, was the least of his worries. Now, if she suddenly poofed into a fish or something, then he'd panic, and try to find some body of water to put her in…but, there was no gills on her, and no fins, so, he was to remain clam.

That, and, he was sure that he had to wait here till she woke up…if he got a bad taste of her now, then he would have trouble staying in the room.

Tenain watched idly as the blue haired demon rushed right on out of the fortress, and his chilling silver eyes slid shut. "Himmel, Himmel, Himmel…what on earth am I gonna do with you?" He asked himself softly, feeling the kitty's energy levels vanish, his speed and grace taking him out of Tenain's field of vision and feel. "Such a disobedient kitten he is. Its as if he was never taught any manners at all…leaving without saying goodbye to his host…how rude indeed."

The demon lord smirked, then pushed away from his balcony. He wanted to check up on his pure little newcomer, and for that, he had not even time to recapture Himmel.

Besides, lovely Thirteen was far more important then any measly cat demon ever would or could be. Whatever that creation was, the power flowing from each part of her, the sheer amounts of goodness…Tenain must find out what she is, there was no way around that. No, he was hooked, addicted, and Tenain refused to let his newly found obsession rot away, or use up its purpose, like the last one, and the one before that.

No, not Thirteen. Thirteen, she was something much different then anything he had ever felt, or laid eyes on…he would do anything to keep her here, with him, at all costs.

After all, she was his obsession, his prize.


End file.
